[ayaghmour2]

It's not quite the deal I wanted, but I found a taker for Joe Brown. Like Lefty Allen and George Cleaves, he will be a Gotham, and in return we will receive their 3rd, 4th, and 5th Round Picks in the January draft. In a sense, Brown was the odd man out, as we have at least seven other internal candidates for the rotation, and Duke Bybee can replace him as the captain of the staff. It ends 11 seasons in the Cougars organization, as he was acquired from the Dynamos way back in 1936 for Hank Spencer. Brown debuted the next season and spent parts of three of the next four seasons in the stopper role. 1940 and 1941 were very strong seasons, as he had ERAs and WHIPs of 2.84 (141 ERA+) and 1.37 and 2.94 (135 ERA+) and 1.23.

We opened a rotation spot for him in 1942, and he quickly excelled. The durable righty went 15-14 with a 3.17 ERA (104 ERA+) and 1.22 WHIP. He threw 238.1 innings in 30 starts, walking 43 while striking out 82. He was worth 4.3 WAR and posted a 2.98 FIP (90 FIP-), excellent numbers for a first year starter. He did a great job building off of that, improving to 18-11 with a 2.51 ERA (130 ERA+) in 33 starts and 273 innings. His 1.05 WHIP was one of the lowest in the association and he had 119 strikeouts to just 63 walks. His 2.87 FIP (87 FIP-) supported the dominance and he posted a 5 WAR (5.3) season at 29. Unfortunately for Brown, we were in conflict, and he was one of the first guys to go. He enlisted in the Army in the Fall of 1943, missing out on two years of his prime.

He came back last season, but he was clearly rusty. He had an awful start to the season before eventually straining his triceps tendon as he was starting to heat up. It interrupted what ended up being a nearly 30 inning scoreless streak, and he finished the season 6-7 with a 3.09 ERA (113 ERA+) in 16 starts after having an ERA above 6 earlier on. His 1.07 WHIP was second to just his breakout 1943 season, and he struck out 46 with 25 walks in 128.1 innings pitched. Brown was healthy in 1947, but like nearly every other Cougar, he had a down season. He was still average, going 13-13 with a 3.87 ERA (99 ERA+) and 3.75 FIP (97 FIP-) in 239.2 innings pitched. His 1.24 WHIP was four points higher then his career mark, and his 1.6 K/BB was his lowest since joining the rotation. That's not to say it was a bad season, as more-or-less 50% of the FABL pitchers were worse, and he was worth 3.5 WAR in his 30 starts.

This ended a 215 game career with us, Brown finishes 70-57 with 20 saves. He had an impressive 3.28 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.20 WHIP with 416 strikeouts and 265 walks in 1,086.1 innings pitched. The former Dynamo draftee was worth exactly 19 WAR, and was a very useful pitcher for us both on the mound and in the dugout. But we have a ton of young arms and I can't get rid of Pap, Bybee, or the Jones Brothers. That made the 33-year-old the odd-man out, as I'm ready to give George Oddo a shot at the rotation. He struggled in his two starts this year, but had a 3.02 ERA (120 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP in 131.1 innings as a rookie. Sure, it was a war year, but his 4.9 K/9 was very impressive. He struggled in AAA this season, but I think part of that is him wanting to be in Chicago. Both Dixie Marsh and OSA view him as a potential #2, and since he's no longer a prospect it's hard to trade him. He's still young and will be 25 on Opening Day, the same age Duke Bybee turned this season. I'm not expecting a Bybee-like season, but if Oddo can keep the ball in the park (32 HR in 188.1 innings), he'll have a ton of success with a strong defense behind him.

Even if Oddo isn't ready, there are plenty of internal options. Harry Parker and Ken Matson will both start in the pen, but both are more then capable of starting games. Even Mel Haynes or Charlie Kelsey could make a start or two, and while that's not ideal, we can skip the 5th spot on occasion if our scheduled isn't too tough. I have faith in Oddo, Parker, or Matson against most of the offenses in the league, but if things go south quick, a younger guy like Haynes, Kelsey, or even Harry Beardsley could get a shot. We now have plenty of draft assets to try to trade into the first, or add talent that has passed over earlier on. We now get extra picks in three rounds that produced top 200 prospects Dudley Sapp (3rd, 117th), Mike Emerson (4th, 183rd), and Buddy Jenkins (5th, 102nd). This class looks deep as well, and since our pick is already high, we will have some very quality picks in the middle rounds.

Plenty of additional housekeeping as the CWL is about to kick off as rosters were announced today. The affiliates remain the same, so us and the Washington Eagles sent ten players to the Santa Clara Stallions. This year there were not replacements, meaning Otto Christian, Johnny Peters, and Harry Beardsley will be staying stateside. Opening day is still eight days away, but once the season starts I'll again do updates on how our prospects are doing. The nine players representing us are:

RHP Dick Garcia
RHP Jack Maxwell
RHP Tommy Seymour
C Pat Brown Jr.
2B Bob Schmelz
SS Rupert Heinbaugh
LF Art Goins
LF Don Jeppsen
RF Jimmy Hairston

I also made a second, much smaller trade to free up a 40-man spot, as Homer Guthrie was sent to the Miner for a 5th Round Pick. Technically we could have ran with three catchers as Guthrie, Harry Mead, and Eddie Howard are all deserving of a roster spot, but there wouldn't be enough playing time to go around. I'm leaning on giving Eddie Howard the starting job, and with Bob Mundy in AAA and Mike Bordes in AA I didn't want to move anyone down. Garland Phelps will quickly make his ascent up and if Bordes is moved down to A ball he' stuck in San Jose all season. Instead, there's a spot open regardless of injury and we can keep all our more promising catchers getting a majority of starts behind the plate. Guthrie is too good to be in a part time role in the minors, as he's hit .252/.378/.333 (104 OPS+) in parts of two seasons with us. The Miners have a George Cleaves sized hole behind the plate, allowing Guthrie and part of the Cleaves return, Dino Robinson, a shot to compete for the starting role.